St. Louis, MO - HDTV - Page 192

Not sure if you frequent DSL reports, looks like some others are starting to see some problems in the St. Louis area. You can register for free, and like AVS, no junk emails will come from them. http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r193...City-slow-down

I have a few questions about OTA HD in Florissant, MO. I'm brand new to HD, but I've been reading a thing or two about it on these forums. I'm getting ready to invest in an antenna, I'm trying to figure out if I can make due with a little set top antenna or if I need to do an attic unit or better. I'm in North County, up near Florissant, actually just north east of Flo outside of the city limits. Also, my TV lives in the basement. I didn't want to purchase a set top antenna and have it not work for fear of being able to return it, but I was hoping to get some advice. Thanks for the help!

Jerel

Jerel, nothing beats a good antenna above the roofline, but my guess is that rabbit ears (or something a little fancier like a Zenith Silver Sensor) would give you reliable reception for UHF channel 26 (channel 11's digital simulcast), UHF 31 (Channel 30's simulcast), all the way up to channel 56 (channel 4's simulcast).

In Saint Charles, rabbit ears work with a little fiddling. But my Radio Shack V-90 rooftop antenna is a slam dunk. It's nice to have margin!

where is this Radio Shack v-90 that you so speak of?

I appreciate the quick response, I'm going to borrow a buddies set top antenna sometime in the next couple of days to check it out. Thanks!

Jerel

I think it's DD, Jerel. You can read about it, and others
HERE
Scroll down to the December 20, 2003 entry to read about the V-90.

Also, if you purchase one online, say at a place like Fry's, most of them have NQA return policies, and usually included a return packing slip and return instructions with the shipment.

In an effort to simplify my wiring hookups, I've got an Onkyo TXSR702 and an XBox 360 for sale. PM me if interested.

-Matt

Rumors still swirl about the possible acquisition of E* by AT&T, but now DirecTV is included in the mix.

AT&T May Acquire a Satellite Company

I reported earlier that I was having trouble playing some of Dish's new MPEG4 channels on my PC (captured from a modified Dish 211 receiver). After all my computer overhauls this past summer (getting UnRaid up and running), I finally got around to testing again. Although I'm still having trouble playing those files with some media players, the ones I've tested do seem to play in PowerDVD Ultra.

Reaper was HD the whole time last night, but I noticed audio sync problems during a lot/most of it (seemed to vary)... Anyone else?




Yeah, I flipped to channel 4 during NCIS last night, and just after 7:30 I saw this. Just a couple seconds, but full widescreen. Hmm, interesting!

I had a couple of very short dropouts, not nearly as bad as last week.

I guess they figure most people will get the locals via Sat, so why worry. Plus, aren't all new TV's going to have ATSC tuners built-in? If someone had to view OTA, they could use the TV's tuner. Yes, I see the downfalls to this as far as having to change inputs, DVR, etc., but does D* really care? I'm still MR. Mpeg 2 Tivo. I don't want to have to rewire my whole system, so I'm putting the whole thing off until they shut me down completely.

Scott

yeah I believe the real answer is that OTA Tuner was only added so people could get locals. But now they are almost all available in most markets, rendering it, from D*'s viewpoint, unnecessary.

Doug could probably weigh-in on actual number, but IMO, "almost all available in most markets" is a stretch, at best.

If you're referring to the populous revenue generating markets important to DTV, then I'd have to agree.

IMO using a stand-alone DVR, and having to switch inputs to access the TV's ATSC tuner in not an option. The non-integration of the EGP alone, shoots that down.

I'd look for the competing pay TV providers to capitalize on this, once it hits market.

OT...just wondering what the take here is....Sox or Rox??

[I'm half-way through it Doug...tonight, or tomorrow...promise ]

True, there are plenty of "rural" markets without their locals, but with the new sats this will likely be a non-issue by the time the HR-21 becomes common. I certaintly don't want to sterotype "rural", but there is probably a smaller HD market anyway in those parts..both in channles available and in subscriber's interest.

I agree though that not having OTA is big mistake. Just for an example: D* is probably not going to be adding PBS anytime soon, either local or as the national feed. I really like having the ability to use my DVR for PBS.

I've always said that the straw that broke the camel's back for me and Charter was when they dropped CBS. Had there been an OTA tuner built into the Moxi, I would (more than likely) still have Charter.

Now I doubt D* will be dropping any local channels, but I think you get the point. We want a box that is flexable.

Another thing too: I believe in the next couple years (much to the umbrage of you bandwidth-philes) you'll see more sub-channels popping up and better programming and uses made of it. This will probably be post-analog shut-off when the market will suddenly grow for digital television. There is no way D* is going to carry all those stations.

I know I use Channel 5's Weather+ and I like having all the PBS Stations. I would hate to be without them or the ability to record PBS.

Well first of all, D* is NOT going to shut the HD Tivo's down COMPLETELY - you will ONLY loose the HD channels coming thru the dish. The HD OTA tuner on ALL HD boxes will continue to work just fine, regardless of what D* does with the sat HD channels. I plan on keep my HD Tivo running even AFTER I upgrade for this very reason alone.



100% TRUE. While E* is currently in about 175 DMA's in SD, D* is lagging behind with only about 140+ DMA's.

It's even worse on HD locals - E* is only in approx 35 DMA's, while D* is only up to about 58 DMA's.

So, considering there are 210 DMA's to cover, it IS a FAR cry from "almost all available in most markets". While I'm sure D* will be adding more HD local markets, it's probably will not be adding more until the next Spaceway bird launches next year. Even then, if they grow at the rate they grew their SD markets, they got a LOT more work to do!

Look at MY market - we're DMA #84, in the capital of IL, but we did NOT even get D* SD locals until a couple years - & on that stupid 72.5 bird to boot!

But, you basically ARE stereotyping rural markets - us "hicks in the sticks up here in Springpatch" want HD just as much as y'all down yonder in St.Louie.

While you guys in DMA #21 already HAVE your HD locals on BOTH E* & D*, we have NEITHER one on the dish. (at least the big 4 nets anyway)
However, except for our local MNT affiliate, EVERY one of our local OTA's IS up in HD - the last one (CBS) went up about 6 months ago. The very DAY it went on the air, our local cable co. (Insight) had it on as well. Our market has THREE PBS's & ALL of them broadcast in HD. Insight cable here carries EVERY, single HD channel available, & except for our CBS, they've had all of our HD locals for well over a year now. (except for the Charleston PBS, since it's far away from the Springfield/Decatur area - they still carry the other 2 PBS in HD)

Why am I telling you all this - because right now, DBS is now the single biggest holdup to wider acceptance of HD, at least in our market. About 1/3 of my original DBS customers dumped it & went back to cable. Why - because cable NOW has ALL locals in HD & right through the same cable & box Insight supplies. They don't have to screw around with antennas & the like. And now, the brainboxes at D* are now going to start leaving out OTA tuning on their DVR's, so now WE cannot even use THAT as a viable option, while we wait & wait & wait & wait... (tick tick tick tick...)

Not to sound preachy, but some of you guys in your larger markets seem to take what YOU get for granted & assume that ONLY a tiny fraction of the population is missing out. Sorry, but there is a LOT more of us out there than you really know about...

My roots are in rural Missouri, although I've lived in St. Louis most of my life, so I'm a little more sensitive to cultural stereotypes than many people might be. It's all relative, though. Just try convincing someone from the county that someone who lives in St. Louis city doesn't take his life in his hands just going to the grocery store. Or, see how far the nose of someone from LA might go up in the air if you mention you come from St. Louis. One of the things that I loved about teaching in an inner city high school (or going to one, before that) was discovering that intelligence, class, compassion and other defining characteristics of decent human beings are not determined by where they come from.

Give that boy a new John Deere ballcap...he earned it for that one

Though, I believe, and correct me if I'm wrong Scott, the proper grammer would be "all ya's all..."

Check out the latest issue (Nov.) of Widescreen Review for John Kotches' fine article on putting together a home theater PC (HTPC). I'm about ready to build a new box myself, John. My LG dual drive (HD DVD/Blu-ray combo) is on its way from Canada as I write. I'm going to use an Intel Q6600 quad-core CPU. The box will be as quiet as I can make it, since it will be the only one upstairs. It'll be tied to my network and the UnRaid systems in the basement. UnRaid has worked beautifully ever since I set it up. Your tip has really given me peace of mind for my files. I send MyHD and Nextcom R5000 satellite captures directly to it.

Well, once again our wonderful "HD leader" didn't flip the switch on Bionic Woman 'til about the 23 minute mark... almost the exact same time they finally flipped the switch LAST week.

What was really maddening... some of the commercials in between SD upconverted segments of the show aired in genuine HD! WTF?????

I think I'm gonna dump my season pass for this show on kSDk and set a new one for the repeats on SciFi HD (Fridays 6PM) instead.

Joe and John... it's getting time for me to put together a new HTPC too. Tired of this single core 3400 stuttering on 1080p material.

Is it my bad hearing or have the snaps, crackles & pops experienced whenever the HD "leader" goes in and out of local cut-ins, diminished lately?

Surely, they haven't done something right. I must be mistaken.

Now if only they would do something about the DD 5.1 flag...............

Maybe, but there is still more in St. Louis. That's my point.

Let's just look at it from a business perspective...how much larger is the St. Louis Metro area compared to the Springfield one? How many more people have HD tv sets? How many more people already have some form of HD service? How many stations broadcast in HD?

If you have limited satellite space for rolling out these channels, which market are going to go for FIRST?

Obviously if it would be more profitable in Bethany or Jacksonville or wherever, they would add it first.

One of things that you have to accept in a "rural area" is that you are usually the last to get something right? And you are not even rural, per se. You are in Springfield. But we also hear of rural areas not having cell phone coverage or DSL, etc...it comes with the peace and quiet and cost of living there.

Shoot, St. Louis is usually in the "last" category...we were the last of the major markets to get a UPN and we don't have ION. Not that those channels are make or break "must-haves", just saying.

I've long accepted the fact the St. Louis is always going to be near the bottom of everything because its a small city in the Midwest. Whether its TV or sports or concerts. No big A-Rod or Soriano deals coming here.

Like I said, D* has a new sat and another one on the way. By the time th HR-21 becomes common, you'll probably have your locals.

Besides, can't you get a waiver?

Thank goodness for OTA during the bad storms and tornado watches recently. I have the HR-20 and I briefly lost my HD channels. I did not try 2, 4, or 5 in SD as I eliminated those in my channel list. When my power went out I used a portable black & white TV and was able to keep track of what was going on weather wise using its antenna.

I also use OTA for PBS and 5-1 weather.

I think the real reason for no OTA in the HR-21 is cost. Period.

As far as the the D* Tivo, I have that in my bedroom on my SD CRT. I like to watch news and commentary before falling asleep and the dual buffer is well suited for that. So because it's SD I have no reason to change it out to get the HD version of the channels and lose my dual buffer.

I think you guys went way overboard with "stereotyping rural areas" comment.

From a business point of view, its small potatoes. I don't think that's harsh because its the truth.

If you are a national company, will you put your resources toward the 2.8 million people in the St. Louis metro area or the 188,000 people in the Springfield area?

I don't know who "you" is, but if one can receive the networks in SD, no waivers. The exception is locally owned and operated stations like KTVI.

Hey I agree. I love OTA. I never had before the HR-20 as my TV is only "HD Ready", no tuner built in.

I'm just saying from D*'s viewpoint, its easy to see why they would want to get rid of the OTA. They want people to be handcuffed. It's why cable doesn't have built in OTA or make as hard as possible to get a cable card. These companies want you to use their services and products.

I was apparently referring to the "hicks in the sticks up in Springpatch".

I am finally going to switch from Charter to D*. My Chater bill just went up almost $45 becuase my promotional rate ran out and D* makes alot of sense now.

I have a couple of questions for you D* folks. Some have been asked in the past, I was just wanting to get an update.

1--How big a Hard Drive does the HR20 come with? Also how large of an external HD can you hook up to it?

2--There was some talk of only having to run one line to your HR20 with some new piece of hardware. Is that rolled out yet? If not when is it expected?

3--Is FSMW-HD up and running on D*?

Thanks in advance for the responses.

Brad

It comes with a 300GB drive. No capacity limit on the ESATA drive, although it does render the internal drive useless once you connect a ESATA drive.


It is called the Single Wire Multiswitch. And no it is not readily available to the public. I don't know the time frame. Go to DBStalk.com and do a search on SWM or Single Wire Multiswitch for more information.


Yes. It is channel 647-1 and it is active when there is something being show in HD.



Not a problem. Good luck

Is that what yuinz say in Farmington?